Prototyping Tools

Prototyping tools are what turn a pile of components into a working circuit and then into something that survives being carried to a demo. Breadboards, jumper wires, soldering irons, solder, desoldering pumps, multimeters, wire strippers, project boxes and power supplies all live here.

If you are setting yourself up from nothing, the order that matters is roughly this: a full-size breadboard and a set of male-to-male, male-to-female and female-to-female jumpers will carry you through every tutorial you attempt. A multimeter is the single tool that turns guessing into diagnosis — being able to check continuity and measure an actual voltage will save you more hours than any other purchase. A temperature-controlled soldering iron with decent solder comes next, once your circuits start needing to be permanent, and a desoldering pump is what rescues the board when a joint goes wrong.

These are also the items most worth handling before you buy, which is exactly what our Nairobi CBD counter is for. Everything is available for countrywide delivery too.